Romania will host the European Conference for Architectural Policies for the first time. The European Conference on Architectural Policies “Future Shapers”, ECAP RO2019, hosted informally by the country holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, will be held in Bucharest (at the Ministry of Culture and National Identity), on June 12th 2019.

The event, organized by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration and the Romanian Order of Architects, will bring together, for the first time, a community of over 300 national and international guests. European architect experts, central authorities representatives and chief architects as representatives of local public authorities will address topical issues about the impact of architecture policies at European level and examples of good practices in several European countries. For Romania, this event offers a unique opportunity for decision-makers to find a platform for inspiration and response to current issues in the field of architecture and urban planning, such as housing, public space quality and other topics about the sustainability of the built environment, namely energy efficiency of buildings or the preservation of cultural heritage.

“Organized in Romania, ECAP RO2019 is a new opportunity for collaboration and inspiration across the European Union that will generate future architectural policies and exemplify to European citizens the value of these policies for the quality of life. We wanted the event to be organized in the context of the Informal Meeting of the Ministers responsible for Urban Development, organized in Bucharest on PRES RO2019, announcing the launch of the Bucharest Declaration and the establishment of two new partnerships of the European Urban Agenda: the Partnership for Culture and Cultural Heritage and the Partnership for Public Safety. We expect together to extend and professionalise the framework of collaboration between experts and policy makers”, said Deputy Prime Minister Vasile-Daniel Suciu, Minister of Regional Development and Public Administration.

Romania is among the countries where citizens are rather unsatisfied with the quality of life, with more than 40% of the population facing at least one housing problem – as mentioned in the latest report of the Institute for Research on Quality of Life – Quality of life in Romania in European context, published in Bucharest in 2018 by the Romanian Academy. At the same time, Bucharest ranks 109th in terms of the quality of life of capital cities globally, according to a study published by Mercer.com earlier this year.

Although Romania is – as an exception to other European countries – characterized by a high degree of ownership of the dwellings, this element of stability is accompanied, however, by a poor quality of housing: lack of utilities or basic services (transport public places, green spaces, schools, kindergartens, etc.), overcrowding and an insufficient housing fund. Also, there are still deep inequalities in housing conditions between urban and rural areas, and between those with very high incomes and those with very low incomes, indicating that measures are needed to maintain decent housing conditions for low and extremely low-income population groups. In this sense, the concept of „affordable housing” is one of the topics on the agenda of the 12 June event in Bucharest.

„State policy in the field of architecture has a pragmatic aim: to ensure quality, comfort and safety for citizens in a healthy environment. Consequently, jointly with the public authorities – central and local – we want to place architecture at the right level on the public agenda and thus remove the obstacles from achieving a sustainable good quality built environment. The European Conference on Architecture Policies is a premiere for Romania and we are glad to be side by side with the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration, as it’s only together with the competent authorities, the participation of the chief architects, and by illustrating examples of good practice at European level, that we will be able to translate this experience into operational public policies”, said Alexandru Găvozdea, President of the Romanian Order of Architects.

The European Conference on Architecture Policies is also a good opportunity for public information on the importance of integrated architecture policies – their role and impact on the quality of life, as awareness and understanding of the practical, psychological and cultural role of the built environment depend to a large extent on the value assigned to it by society. ( Consequently, the event will be broadcast in an absolute premiere since its first edition in 2012 via live streaming by the Romanian Order of Architects and will be streamed online throughout Europe.

The European Conference on Architecture Policies (ECAP R02019) is financed by the Architecture Stamp Duty, a fund dedicated to promoting the built environment culture in society.

About MDRAP – mdrap.ro
The Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration – MDRAP is the public administration authority in the field of urban planning, architecture and building, thus having the attributions to ensure the strategic, public policy and regulation framework, , as well as to disseminate good practices and to be an opinion maker. Within the PR2019 PRES program, MDRAP organizes a series of events and meetings of experts, general managers and ministers responsible for urban and territorial issues.

About OAR – oar.archi
The Romanian Order of Architects is the professional organization of public interest, defined by Law 184/2001 on organising and practising the architectural profession ,the attributions of which are related to the regulation of the profession and the development of baukultur (the culture of built environment) ,in order to increase the quality and education of the inhabitants regarding the quality of architecture and urbanism (city planning, urban planning). OAR, under the coordination of MDRAP, aims essentialy at increasing the level of collaboration between the two parties in order to reach the common interest and support MDRAP’s work.

About ECAP
The European Conference Series on Architectural Policies is an informal itinerant event hosted since 2000 in various countries holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU and aims to boost architectural policies and exchange experience among European countries. This year’s edition of Bucharest, titled Future Shapers, highlights the active role of decision-makers, chief architects, business community, and civil society in shaping future architectural policies as a social welfare pillar.

More information at http://ecap.oar.archi/